The changing of a urinary catheter, performing of a manual bladder washout and flexible cystoscopy is conducted with the patient normally on a patient bed, occasionally a trolley and rarely an operating table. Male patients are in the supine position, females supine but with legs bent and apart with ankles together (the so-called “frog-leg” position).
Current urology drapes are small and offer partial protection from bodily fluids such as urine and blood. Using current draping methods, the majority of patients after having a urinary catheter changed, a manual bladder washout performed or a flexible cystoscopy, end up lying in wet sheets, bedding and clothing from urine and often blood either from the urine (haematuria) or from a traumatic catheterization. The patient's skin is also often in contact with the blood and urine.
The doctor or nurse performing the procedure and the patient are exposed to infectious materials because they are not well contained by current draping methods. Also, whoever attends the patient and/or needs to move the patient and change clothes and/or bed linen (nurse, patient services or clinical assistants, doctor) is further exposed to infectious material. Furthermore, the floor around the patient's bed or trolley is often covered with urine and blood necessitating cleaning staff to clean this infectious material and it is not uncommon for the shoes/clothes of staff to become soiled in the process.
This exposes healthcare workers to blood-borne pathogens.
Currently, having a urinary catheter changed, a manual bladder washout performed or a flexible cystoscopy often necessitates unnecessary exposure to hazardous material, wastes staff time and valuable hospital resources (bed linen, patient gowns and clothing needing cleaning), and therefore provides the following disadvantages:
1) Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
The healthcare profession globally is actively focused on reducing OHS risks, to save lives, increase staff productivity/utilization by reducing sickness/infection, cut insurance costs and minimize the potential threat of litigation. The current draping methods/products for catheter and related procedures expose healthcare workers to substantial risks regarding infectious materials in the work place.
2) Patient Safety/Risk of Infection
By exposing patients to infectious material, it increases the patient's risk of infection.
3) Diminishment of Hospital Resources/Increased Costs
The current draping methods reduce valuable hospital resources and ultimately increase the cost of providing healthcare. In particular:                the costs associated with current OHS risks (highlighted above)        the time taken by hospital staff attending to the cleanup of patients/beds        soiled/contaminated linen requiring laundering        soiled/contaminated patient clothes/gowns that need laundering.        